Like many members of Vancouver’s Chinese-Canadian community, Weihua Xiao still has assets in China.
Sometimes, she needs to move them from country to country.
The Burnaby, B.C., woman swore as much in an affidavit recently after finding herself on the receiving end of a lawsuit filed by someone who claims they’re owed money Xiao promised to help transfer out of China in defiance of strict currency restrictions.
Xiao claims she’s the victim — pointing the finger instead at another Lower Mainland resident who is at the centre of a tangle of civil claims related to what appears to be a failed money exchange and customers seeking millions in debts.
In her affidavit, Weihua Xiao claims she “feels terrible” for advising the woman suing her that money transfers were “completely safe.”
“I used to toss words around like ‘guaranteed’ and ‘put your mind at ease’ when sending text messages,” Xiao writes.
“In reality, her money was never safe.”
A ‘small commission’ for acting as ‘agent’
China limits the export of currency to $50,000 US per year, setting up a market for exchanges in other countries in which operators help people move their fortunes out of China for a fee.
Sarah Wu, the woman suing Xiao, claimed she transferred 1.34 million Chinese renminbi — or yuan — to bank accounts Xiao controlled in China in October 2020 on the understanding she would receive $260,000 in Canada in return.
A Chinese bank clerk counts Chinese renminbi banknotes at a bank. China places a limit of US $50,000 a year on transfers out of the country. (The Associated Press)
Xiao has denied the allegations, accusing Wu of holding her liable for money she tried to “smuggle out of China and which appears to have been taken or confiscated by an unknown third party or government actor.”
In an affidavit, she claimed she “never set up a formal money exchange business” but instead collected a “small commission” by acting as an “agent” between friends and a woman who regularly transferred money out of China for others — Xu Dong Liu.
Xiao claimed Liu told her Wu’s money remained in a currency exchange bank account that was frozen by Hong Kong law enforcement and that Liu and her business partners had encountered some “problems” with their transfers.
Gone ‘incommunicado’
The CBC has found at least eight lawsuits filed against Xu Dong Liu and her husband, Jiahua Dong, for losses of up to US $1 million through breached exchange agreements.
The most recent was filed in August by a “homemaker” who claims she contracted with the couple to transfer $500,000 from China to Canada in 2019 and never received her money.
A series of lawsuits have been filed in B.C. Supreme Court in recent months in relation to failed attempts to transfer money between China and Canada. (David Horemans/CBC)
Last month, a B.C. Supreme Court judge ordered Liu and Dong to pay $641,981.81 to another claimant to make up for a mixture of principal and interest on a “loan” made in 2019.
And in another case, the numbered company behind a restaurant claimed to have reached a deal with Liu and Dong to “borrow” $500,000 from China to pay employees after running short on cash due to the pandemic.
The notice of claim accuses Liu and Dong of breaching an agreement to pay back $215,000 of the cash and then going “incommunicado.”
‘Please don’t damage my shop’
Several of the lawsuits name Dong’s Richmond-based company — Jingdinglai Holding, which is registered as a money services business with Canada’s Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre (FINTRAC).
The business appears to have collapsed. The phone number goes straight to an automated reply with no chance of leaving a message. An unlit neon sign signalling a currency exchange hangs above a ‘For Lease’ notice in the window of the unit listed as the business address, a storefront in a busy strip mall.
A sign posted in Chinese outside the window of the unit that once housed Jingdinglai Holding. The sign says the foreign exchange business has moved: “I’m the landlord. I’m also a victim. Please don’t damage my shop. Thank you.” (Jason Proctor/CBC)
A woman who works next door told a CBC reporter a stream of people have come looking for the owners. She said she has seen people break into tears on the sidewalk.
A mall manager confirmed that the windows of the unit have been broken in recent months.
The unit’s owner has posted signs in Chinese, saying the tenant has moved out: “I’m the landlord. I’m also a victim. Please don’t damage my shop. Thank you.”
Documents filed in one court application accuse Liu and Dong of “evading service.”
Liu and Dong have not filed responses to some of the claims, but in reply to two, Liu denied any wrongdoing.
The lawyer who represented her did not return a call from CBC. According to court documents, he has withdrawn as her lawyer in relation to one of the claims — for US $1 million.
‘All sorts of potential problems’
Former RCMP deputy commissioner Peter German authored a 2018 report on money laundering in B.C. which included a call for greater regulation of the money services industry.
“I suspect the reason you see it in civil courts rather than criminal courts is because the police either don’t have the resources or the time to deal with these things,” he said.
German said hard-working, honest people can find their options limited when trying to move their assets out of a country like China.
“They want to get the money out, they’re looking for somebody in the shadow world to do it for them and the next thing you know they get defrauded,” he said.
“So it leads to all sorts of potential problems. And then the civil courts are being asked to deal with it.”
In an email, FINTRAC said registration as a money services business does not “indicate an endorsement or licensing of the business,” only the fulfilment of a legal requirement to register with the federal government.
The agency says privacy laws prevent the disclosure of any information about Jingdinglai Holding.
German said registration with FINTRAC means only that the agency is aware of a company’s existence, but does not guarantee enforcement or heightened scrutiny.
None of the claims against Xiao, Liu or Dong have been proven in court.
Xiao’s lawyer, Russell Robertson, says his client is confident that the truth of the matter will ultimately come out in court. He said one thing she knows for sure is that she didn’t receive any money.
“She is, in a sense, a victim too,” he told the CBC.
“She put her own trust in the people that she was dealing with…. And it didn’t work out.”
Most job search advice is cookie-cutter. The advice you’re following is almost certainly the same advice other job seekers follow, making you just another candidate following the same script.
In today’s hyper-competitive job market, standing out is critical, a challenge most job seekers struggle with. Instead of relying on generic questions recommended by self-proclaimed career coaches, which often lead to a forgettable interview, ask unique, thought-provoking questions that’ll spark engaging conversations and leave a lasting impression.
Your level of interest in the company and the role.
Contributing to your employer’s success is essential.
You desire a cultural fit.
Here are the top four questions experts recommend candidates ask; hence, they’ve become cliché questions you should avoid asking:
“What are the key responsibilities of this position?”
Most likely, the job description answers this question. Therefore, asking this question indicates you didn’t read the job description. If you require clarification, ask, “How many outbound calls will I be required to make daily?” “What will be my monthly revenue target?”
“What does a typical day look like?”
Although it’s important to understand day-to-day expectations, this question tends to elicit vague responses and rarely leads to a deeper conversation. Don’t focus on what your day will look like; instead, focus on being clear on the results you need to deliver. Nobody I know has ever been fired for not following a “typical day.” However, I know several people who were fired for failing to meet expectations. Before accepting a job offer, ensure you’re capable of meeting the employer’s expectations.
“How would you describe the company culture?”
Asking this question screams, “I read somewhere to ask this question.” There are much better ways to research a company’s culture, such as speaking to current and former employees, reading online reviews and news articles. Furthermore, since your interviewer works for the company, they’re presumably comfortable with the culture. Do you expect your interviewer to give you the brutal truth? “Be careful of Craig; get on his bad side, and he’ll make your life miserable.” “Bob is close to retirement. I give him lots of slack, which the rest of the team needs to pick up.”
Truism: No matter how much due diligence you do, only when you start working for the employer will you experience and, therefore, know their culture firsthand.
“What opportunities are there for professional development?”
When asked this question, I immediately think the candidate cares more about gaining than contributing, a showstopper. Managing your career is your responsibility, not your employer’s.
Cliché questions don’t impress hiring managers, nor will they differentiate you from your competition. To transform your interaction with your interviewer from a Q&A session into a dynamic discussion, ask unique, insightful questions.
Here are my four go-to questions—I have many more—to accomplish this:
“Describe your management style. How will you manage me?”
This question gives your interviewer the opportunity to talk about themselves, which we all love doing. As well, being in sync with my boss is extremely important to me. The management style of who’ll be my boss is a determining factor in whether or not I’ll accept the job.
“What is the one thing I should never do that’ll piss you off and possibly damage our working relationship beyond repair?”
This question also allows me to determine whether I and my to-be boss would be in sync. Sometimes I ask, “What are your pet peeves?”
“When I join the team, what would be the most important contribution you’d want to see from me in the first six months?”
Setting myself up for failure is the last thing I want. As I mentioned, focus on the results you need to produce and timelines. How realistic are the expectations? It’s never about the question; it’s about what you want to know. It’s important to know whether you’ll be able to meet or even exceed your new boss’s expectations.
“If I wanted to sell you on an idea or suggestion, what do you need to know?”
Years ago, a candidate asked me this question. I was impressed he wasn’t looking just to put in time; he was looking for how he could be a contributing employee. Every time I ask this question, it leads to an in-depth discussion.
Other questions I’ve asked:
“What keeps you up at night?”
“If you were to leave this company, who would follow?”
“How do you handle an employee making a mistake?”
“If you were to give a Ted Talk, what topic would you talk about?”
“What are three highly valued skills at [company] that I should master to advance?”
“What are the informal expectations of the role?”
“What is one misconception people have about you [or the company]?”
Your questions reveal a great deal about your motivations, drive to make a meaningful impact on the business, and a chance to morph the questioning into a conversation. Cliché questions don’t lead to meaningful discussions, whereas unique, thought-provoking questions do and, in turn, make you memorable.
Nick Kossovan, a well-seasoned veteran of the corporate landscape, offers “unsweetened” job search advice. You can send Nick your questions to artoffindingwork@gmail.com.
CALGARY – Canadian Natural Resources Ltd. reported a third-quarter profit of $2.27 billion, down from $2.34 billion in the same quarter last year.
The company says the profit amounted to $1.06 per diluted share for the quarter that ended Sept. 30 compared with $1.06 per diluted share a year earlier.
Product sales totalled $10.40 billion, down from $11.76 billion in the same quarter last year.
Daily production for the quarter averaged 1,363,086 barrels of oil equivalent per day, down from 1,393,614 a year ago.
On an adjusted basis, Canadian Natural says it earned 97 cents per diluted share for the quarter, down from an adjusted profit of $1.30 per diluted share in the same quarter last year.
The average analyst estimate had been for a profit of 90 cents per share, according to LSEG Data & Analytics.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 31, 2024.
CALGARY – Cenovus Energy Inc. reported its third-quarter profit fell compared with a year as its revenue edged lower.
The company says it earned $820 million or 42 cents per diluted share for the quarter ended Sept. 30, down from $1.86 billion or 97 cents per diluted share a year earlier.
Revenue for the quarter totalled $14.25 billion, down from $14.58 billion in the same quarter last year.
Total upstream production in the quarter amounted to 771,300 barrels of oil equivalent per day, down from 797,000 a year earlier.
Total downstream throughput was 642,900 barrels per day compared with 664,300 in the same quarter last year.
On an adjusted basis, Cenovus says its funds flow amounted to $1.05 per diluted share in its latest quarter, down from adjusted funds flow of $1.81 per diluted share a year earlier.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 31, 2024.
